Judge Silberman on the Right to Bear Arms

Now that Tommy’s got us going at it–see his post below–I thought folks here at Ricochet might enjoy this excerpt from my Uncommon Knowledge interview with Judge Laurence Silberman. &nbsp;Judge Silberman wrote the decision declaring unconstitutional the District of Columbia’s handgun ban–and reopening serious debate over the right to bear arms.

This excerpt lasts just five minutes, but Judge Silberman sketches out all the main issues. &nbsp;(He’s just wonderfully succinct and engaging.)

&nbsp;The Founding Fathers might have written the Second Amendment as follows:&nbsp; “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the Militia to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”&nbsp; They were lawyers after all.&nbsp; The right is specifically reserved to the People.&nbsp; Case closed.

~Paules: &nbsp;The Founding Fathers might have written the Second Amendment as follows:&nbsp; “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the Militia to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”&nbsp; They were lawyers after all.&nbsp; The right is specifically reserved to the People.&nbsp; Case closed. · Jan 29 at 1:08pm

Every right in the Bill of Rights&nbsp;are endowed and exercised by individuals. There is no such thing as a right to be execised only by a collective group as I understand it.

The gun-grabbers militia-only rights argument&nbsp;fails on that test. Every individual is the militia. Sovereign, too.